Menstruation and Prejudice: Hygiene, PMS and a culture of shame
All women are very different, and this is our strength but something exactly unites us. Menstruation is a phenomenon with which women live half their life, which means that you should know about it as much as possible.
Nevertheless, menstruation is still one of the most taboo topics in society - and this is in an era that is considered sufficiently advanced to be called postmodernity. Due to the lack of open talk about menstruation, millions of girls around the world do not know how their body functions and how to take care of it, and many are subjected to discrimination - in some cultures, girls are not allowed to go to school and even touch other people during their periods. . Menstruation themes are avoided in movies and in advertising, and discussion of this issue in social networks inevitably causes aggressive comments, including from the women themselves.
Outdated religious stigma, social stereotypes and a catastrophic lack of information about menstruation are not the conditions in which girls can fully develop and live comfortably. We decided to dig into this topic deeper and understand how menstruation occurs, what is important to pay attention to during menstruation, why this quite natural phenomenon is so uneasy in society and what we can do to correct the situation.
How is the menstrual cycle
Menstruation occurs not only in females, but also in females of some placental mammals: many primates, bats and even elephant shrews. The concept is rooted in the Latin menstruus ("monthly") and is a rejection of the layer of the mucous membrane of the uterus (endometrium), accompanied by bleeding. From the first day of menstruation, the menstrual cycle begins. Discomfort at this time is the norm and can be caused by contractions of the uterus.
And now a little more everyday Latin. Simultaneously with the menstrual phase, the follicular starts and lasts an average of 14 days. In this phase, a new follicle forms in the ovaries, in which an egg cell matures. In addition, the process of updating the endometrium in the uterus begins. Then comes the ovulatory phase, which lasts about three days. During this time, under the influence of hormones, the ripe follicle is broken, and a mature egg comes out of it, ready for fertilization. In this regard, during ovulation, some women may experience pain in the lower abdomen.
For the ovulatory phase follows luteal, it lasts an average of 11-16 days. At this time, the hormones estrogen and progesterone are actively produced, which prepare the body for a potential pregnancy. In the event of its occurrence, the fertilized egg must attach to the endometrium. When this does not occur, the menstrual phase starts again, in which the endometrium is rejected.
About the hormonal method of suppressing the menstrual cycle
72% of women in developed countries experience discomfort during menstruation, and 40% would prefer never to have menstruation in their life, provided that it is harmless to the body. Scientists note that such “fatigue” is not surprising: before modern contraception came to our world, women of reproductive age were in one of two states all the time — either they were pregnant or breastfed — and experienced about 160 menstrual cycles in their entire life . Nowadays, we manage to survive more than 450 cycles, in connection with which there is even a scientific opinion that endless ovulation and menstruation are stress for the female body.
American scientists have created an effective method to facilitate the life of women, which is called the suppression of menstruation (from the English. Menstrual suppression). The method is an extension of the cycle with the help of combined hormonal contraceptives, designed to reduce the number of menstruation from twelve or more to three or four times a year, and subsequently completely eliminate them. Previously, such hormonal contraceptives were used to treat endometriosis, painful menstruation (dysmenorrhea) and other symptoms associated with menstruation, but several years ago one of the reasons for prescribing drugs was the desire of women to relieve themselves from monthly discomfort.
The duration of menstruation and the intensity of discharge are affected by many factors: from nutrition to contraceptive methods.
Tablets containing a combination of levonorgestrel and ethinyl estradiol - synthetic analogues of progesterone and estrogen - not only suppress the menstrual cycle, but also block ovulation and prevent pregnancy: the remedy does not allow the egg to mature and exit the ovary and makes a secret in the cervix more dense, preventing movement sperm. In 2003, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) missed the drug Seasonale to the US market, and four years later Lybrel was certified. Medicines are sold by prescription, and they must be taken exclusively under the supervision of a physician. You can resort to drugs until you wish to become pregnant.
Most women who use pills to extend the cycle are satisfied with the result, doctors are divided into two camps: some believe that suppressing menstruation reduces the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer, others claim that the drugs increase the risk of developing cervical, breast and liver cancer. Some scientists even associate hormonal suppression of menstruation with a decrease in the body's ability to fight the human papillomavirus, but these findings have not been confirmed by a sufficient number of appropriate studies.
About different hygiene products during menstruation
While menstruation is still a vital issue for many of us, we offer to figure out how to survive it with comfort and the least stress for the body. The duration of menstruation and the intensity of discharge are affected by a variety of factors: diet, psyche, childbirth, and various methods of contraception. The abundance of secretions is different for each of us and even for the same woman from month to month. However, in cases where the discharge is so abundant that the hygiene product has to be changed almost every hour, it makes sense to consult a gynecologist.
Menstrual blood is a favorable breeding ground for bacteria, moreover, during menstruation, the uterus is slightly opened and it is easier for infectious agents to penetrate it. Because tampons and pads must be changed every 3-4 hours. If the discharge is moderate or scanty and the pad or tampon is not filled in three hours, they should still be replaced with clean ones.
A very serious problem associated with the use of tampons is toxic shock syndrome - a rare and deadly disease that develops on the background of a staph infection. Public attention to this issue recently attracted the model Lauren Wasser, who lost her leg due to toxic shock syndrome. TSS is observed not only in women, but it has been proven that the disease provokes the use of tampons. The fact is that in their production synthetic components are used, so that if bacteria of Staphylococcus aureus are already present in the body, the composition of tampons creates an environment for their reproduction.
The choice of hygiene during menstruation is not limited to tampons and pads. A popular alternative is menstrual cups, which are placed in the vagina to collect discharge. Menstrual bowls have a lot of advantages, and the most important of them is efficiency: the bowl can be inside for up to 10-12 hours, and, depending on the manufacturer, reusable bowls can be used from 1 year to 10 years. Menstrual cups are environmentally friendly in production and use and pose a lower risk to health than other hygiene products: using them does not cause the feeling of dryness that tampons can create, or the effect of a compress, as happens when using gaskets. In addition, no link was found between cases of toxic shock and the use of menstrual cups, and the options from medical silicone are hypoallergenic and do not affect the vaginal microflora.
Doctors claim that sex during menstruation does not hurt - it is natural and safe for both partners.
The future is already here, and in it you can get a smart menstrual cup, which is synchronized with the smartphone and tells you when it is time to empty it. Another brainchild of scientific progress is reusable absorbent underpants, the ultra-thin three-layer structure of which, according to the creators, is hypoallergenic, anti-bacterial and is a full-fledged alternative to gaskets.
Whatever means of hygiene you use during your period - habitual or advanced - do not forget about proper cleansing of the external genitalia. After rejection of the “old” endometrium, a wound surface forms on the walls of the uterus, and at this stage of the menstrual cycle there is a higher risk of infection, because gynecologists recommend paying special attention to hygiene and choosing a special detergent. The optimal choice is hypoallergenic gels for intimate hygiene with a neutral pH.
Why during the month should not avoid sex and physical activity
Menstruation is not a reason to fall into a coma and to neglect everything that we love. Doctors say that sex during menstruation does not hurt - it is natural and safe for both partners, so if you are comfortable, there is no reason to deny yourself pleasure. Doctors even point out that during menstruation the sensitivity may increase: on the first day the level of estrogen and testosterone is low, but on the third day the indices increase. In addition, the selection can serve as an additional lubricant, which increases the pleasure. Some researchers argue that orgasm can relieve uterine spasms, thus relieving menstrual cramps.
Do not forget about contraception. Firstly, menstruation is not an absolute guarantee that you will not get pregnant: for some women, menstruation lasts more than a week, and the onset of the ovulatory phase may coincide with the end of the menstrual period. In addition, sperm remain viable for three to five days, which increases the chances of becoming pregnant. A condom will help to prevent the infection in the uterus, which, as we already found out, during menstruation is especially vulnerable to pathogenic bacteria. Recently invented and more advanced means of hygiene for sex during menstruation - membrane Flex, which blocks the allocation of up to 12 hours. Flex will not protect from pregnancy, but then it will not be necessary to launder the apartment.
If desired, do not neglect the sport. Of course, it is worth refraining from a marathon or lifting a 40-pound barbell, but if you are generally healthy, moderate mobility will not hurt. Moreover, gynecologists believe that horizontal position reduces the tone of the uterus, increasing pain, and note that during painful periods it is better not to lie, but to move as far as possible. If you feel strong, go for a walk or do light exercises - this will improve the blood supply to the pelvic organs and relieve the uterine spasm.
What is PMS and is it worth treating it
There are many anecdotes about PMS, but in the phenomenon itself there is little funny. Premenstrual syndrome is often found in the luteal phase of the cycle. This is a complex of symptoms associated with a natural hormonal change: before the onset of menstruation, a woman may experience lower abdominal pain, increased appetite, a change in mood, swelling of the mammary glands. Some women experience emotional changes: there is irritability, tiredness, tearfulness, depression. Such a range of emotional effects can be explained by a lack of endorphins.
At different times, science tried differently to explain the emergence of PMS: from hormonal and allergic theories to the theory of "water intoxication", in which fluid retention in people suffering from PMS was caused by neuroendocrine disorders. The modern version of the onset of PMS is the theory of the disruption of neurotransmitter metabolism in the central nervous system. According to this hypothesis, premenstrual syndrome is considered as a disorder of the central nervous system due to the action of external factors and congenital or acquired lability (functional mobility, instability) of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian system.
In Indian culture, menstruating women are considered "unclean": they can not sleep during the day, take a bath and touch other people
The decision whether to treat PMS or not depends on the woman’s personal choice and the severity of the syndrome. Treatment is usually aimed at normalizing the functions of the hypothalamus, removing puffiness, as well as at eliminating the concomitant diseases of the genitourinary system, both by pharmacological methods and non-drug (using physiotherapy, massage, etc.). The camp of the opponents of PMS treatment, who consider it a social construct and claim that premenstrual dysphoric disorder and premenstrual syndrome are not related to one another, has also been formed. According to the social psychologist and liberal feminist Carol Tevris, socially conditioned expectation of PMS is common among Western women, and patients report their symptoms to doctors based on this expectation.
It is not necessary to agree with the social conditionality of the ICP, but such a controversy indicates that it is important to take into account not only the physiological, but also the psychological aspect of the menstruation theme, especially since many centuries ago this concept turned into a social setting that stigmatizes women around the world.
How and why in different cultures menstruation remains taboo
In many cultures of the world, such a natural phenomenon as menstruation is still the strongest taboo. In Indian culture, menstruating women are considered "unclean" and are limited in many familiar activities: they are not allowed to enter the kitchen and the temple, sleep during the day, take a bath, wear flowers as decorations, have sex, speak loudly and even touch other people - like to men and women. In Islam, a woman during menstruation is not allowed to pray and participate in any kind of religious activity, as well as to have sex. The religious text of the Jews of Torah (Leviticus 15: 19-30) reads: “When a woman has normal bleeding, she’s unclean for seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean until the evening.” It is forbidden to touch not only the woman, but also the object on which she was sitting or lying.
Such taboos affect the emotional and state of women and girls, complicate their lifestyle. According to the research of Indian specialists in the field of social medicine, 23% of girls stop going to school when they begin their monthly periods - not least because there is no toilet. Every tenth African girl misses at least one day of classes per month because of menstruation. As a result, academic performance falls, and the percentage of deductions increases. It should be noted that teachers also face limitations in this sense.
77% of Indian women use pieces of old tissue during their periods, which are often used several times.
The unacceptably outdated social stance on the monthly in many developing countries has led to a catastrophic lack of information, which, combined with the critical state of the economy and, in particular, hygiene, endangers women's health. For more than 77% of Indian girls and women, as the means of hygiene during menstruation, pieces of old cloth are used, which are often used several times. Moreover, 88% of women from time to time are forced to resort to old newspapers, dry foliage, various husks or sand to absorb secretions. In such a desperate situation of women, limited access to clean running water in cities and villages significantly increases the risk of infection.
If the situation with hygiene in the West is not so deplorable, then the very theme of menstruation is not far removed from the primitive taboo. According to surveys, back in the 1980s, the overwhelming majority of Americans, both adults and adolescents, considered talk of menstruation unacceptable, especially in the presence of men, including family members.
One gets the feeling that the entire information field is saturated with the fear of menstruation. In advertising, gaskets and tampons for demonstration of absorbability instead of red liquid for some reason use blue, and menstruation itself is called mysterious euphemisms like “these days”, “critical days” or, even better, “red calendar days”.
← Advertising pads Always
In film and television, menstruation is still an uncomfortable topic that is often avoided. The exception, perhaps, are the scenes in which menarche is shown, that is, the first menstruation of the girl. Even the extremely frank film "Fifty shades of gray" did not include a scene from the novel of the same name, in which the hero pulls a tampon from her partner's vagina in order to have sex with her. В интервью Variety режиссёр Сэм Тейлор-Джонсон объяснила своё решение тем, что в фильме и без этого хватает откровенных сцен.
Психоаналитики, в частности, британец Клод Дагмар Дали, видят причину табу в так называемом комплексе менструации. Менструальный цикл вызывает тревогу, укоренившуюся в страхе крови и вере в то, что менструирующая женщина - носитель злых сил. Sigmund Freud explained a man’s fear of a woman to the fact that she was incomprehensible to him, alien, and therefore hostile. A man is afraid to be weakened by a woman, to lose potency - first of all in a social sense. As psychologist Ekaterina Mordas notes, anxiety in relation to menstruation is overcome in various tribes through rituals and sexual rites.
Menstruation in modern society is still a stigma that reflects and at the same time rooted misogini up to the most absurd manifestations - such as the parallels between menstruation and defecation. By the way, there is enough internal misogyny regarding menstruation: women have long been imputed that the natural manifestations of their own physicality should be embarrassed, and with any public discussion of the monthly social networks there will certainly be subscribers who will leave squeamish comments on this matter. However, theorists and practitioners of feminism have given up a lot of effort to fight menstrual taboos, and we finally begin to realize our body without any admixture of shame.
How the situation is changing for the better
Slowly and with difficulty, but still there is a shift at the state level, including in developing countries. Since 2010, the Government of India has approved a scheme to improve menstrual hygiene through the distribution of pads in rural areas. The campaign is still in the pilot phase, and much needs to be improved in it.
Gaining momentum such a thing as menstrual time off. As part of the labor protection policy in Western countries, such progress is still far away, but in Indonesia, since 1948 women have the right to two days of paid leave per month, while in Korea they have gone even further and pay women a bonus for going to work during menstruation . Global corporations are also forced to take action on this matter: Nike included time off due to monthly in their corporate policies back in 2007, and the Australian Industrial Workers Union demanded 12 paid menstrual time off per year for Toyota employees.
As before, the majority of achievements are behind private civic initiatives that are expanding to a global scale. One of these, the German non-profit organization to combat the crisis of hygiene around the world Wash United, announced on May 28 the Day of menstrual hygiene and created the same platform Menstrual Hygiene Day. The goal of the platform is to bring together community organizations, entrepreneurs, media and conscious citizens for the sake of educating girls and women around the world in the issues of hygiene during menstruation.
While schoolgirls create computer games-shooters about tampons, hope for the future is strengthening without shame for their own body.
The engine of progress in this matter is the so-called menstrual activism, designed to remove the stigma from the phenomenon. For example, in 2009, artist Ingrid Burton-Muan dedicated menstruation to video work and a series of photographs at the Venice Biennale of Contemporary Art, and in 2012, feminist Chella Kint in her TED Talk called openly and without shame to talk about the monthly hygiene advertising. By the way, such manufacturers gradually appear: for example, HelloFlо tampons advertising is colorful, honest and pro-life, and the British manufacturer of hygiene products Bodyform, in the framework of the #Femodji campaign, suggested that designers create emoji who openly talk about the vicissitudes of menstruation. The market giants are not asleep: last year, Procter & Gamble took the Cannes Glass Lion, an award in a special nomination for fighting gender inequality, presenting the Touch the Pickle campaign. The movie undermines the Indian traditional notion that a menstruating girl with one touch can spoil products.
Last year, a student from India launched the campaign #HappyToBleed, in which girls defended their physicality and thus fought against the menstrual taboo in the country. In the same 2015, graffiti in defense of the monthly appeared on the streets of St. Petersburg following the initiative of a young German woman, and just a couple of weeks ago, students from the University of Lahore in Pakistan staged a protest to draw attention to this problem. Actionism and irony do their work, and while schoolgirls create computer games, shooters about tampons, hope for the future is growing without shame for their own body.
Photo: 1, 2, 3 via Shutterstock, Amazon
